Spain
Spain is one of the most visited countries in Europe because of its traditions, people and beautiful places to visit. If you want to visit Spain at some point, you will want to pull out a map of Spain and get acquainted with the country. It is bordered by several different bodies of water like the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the Balearic Sea. Portugal, Morocco, France, Andorra and Gibraltar are land neighbors of Spain. The Spain’s flag is horizontal stripes with two red stripes and a yellow one in the middle with the coat of arms situated on the left hand side.

Unless you speak Spanish, you will want to brush up on the language. You can learn Spanish with the aid of English to Spanish dictionary. By the same token, Spanish speakers could learn English with the aid of Spanish to English dictionary. There are continuing education classes that are held at community colleges and even high schools. If you want to be able to converse in at least a rudimentary way, like to order dinner, you might want to look into one of these classes.

For some people language has always been a problem. The whole English to Spanish and Spanish to English thing mystifies. If this is the case and you just cannot get past the language barrier no matter how hard you try, you can do one of two things. First, when you visit Spain, you could hire a Spanish translator wherever you go, but that could get a little tedious. Therefore, you could buy one of those handy little gadgets that do Spanish translation for you. Of course, to be on the same side, be sure to carry a Spanish-English dictionary with you anyway!

Just remember that the Spain you visit today is largely shaped by previous events in history. Several hundred years ago, Spain used to be the most powerful country in Europe. However, being power-hungry proved detrimental and the Spanish-American War in 1898 proved the last straw and Spain’s power was diminished thereafter. Luckily, the Spanish people learned from this and started to embrace their cultural heritage and focused on that instead. Eventually, that rich culture turned into a tourist industry which greatly boosts their economy. Today, the country is one of the largest economies in the world.

Part of their culture is their celebration of the holidays. Christmas in Spain is especially recognized. Christmas Eve finds the houses specially lit with oil lamps and the attendance of midnight mass. There is also a special dinner and the streets are filled with music and dancing. Nativity scenes are especially popular in people’s homes as well as the churches.